


Sketched Hearts, Charcoled Cheeks

by rebel_raven



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: M/M, Seriously so many feels, So much fluff you will be squealing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-03
Updated: 2013-09-03
Packaged: 2017-12-25 13:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/953695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_raven/pseuds/rebel_raven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My name is Gerard Way. I am currently thirty years old, an insomniac, an artist, addicted to coffee, in Florence, Italy, very annoyed, and the luckiest man in the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sketched Hearts, Charcoled Cheeks

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here's my first ever posted work. I meant to post it earlier but well... That failed. Epically.  
> Anyways, I originally did this as a commission for a friend and then thought it was only going to be a small quiet fic.  
> ... NOPE! It also took FOREVER to finish. *sighs* oh well. Enough long winded babble, on with the story!  
> If anyone who reads this wants to make fan art or remixes, just send me a message!  
> No, wait, I lied. One more thing;  
> I OWN NOTHING! Aside from the OC's but MY Chemical Romance and the song 'Chances' belong to their respective beings.  
> -RR

   _My name is Gerard Way. I am currently thirty years old, an insomniac, an artist, addicted to coffee, in Florence, Italy, very annoyed, and the luckiest man in the world. Why am I the luckiest man in the world? Because currently, I am in the longest relationship I have ever had in my life, along with one of the most happy and best relationships. Frank Iero, who by the way is twenty-eight, my best friend since high school and boyfriend for the past four years. Best. Summer. Ever. I had one beer that night, after secretly pinning after my best friend for a few months and finally told him. Frank just smiled his little secret smile and said it had taken me long enough to figure out. Whilst I had been confused and dumbfounded, I was attacked by my very sober friend and the rest of the night went in a blur. But the only details that mattered was that we are both happy, in a four year relationship and we are in Italy for our fourth year anniversary.\_

_And why are we in Florence, Italy, staying at my Grandma Helena and Papa’s estate with my mother and all my cousins (which some days I seriously question where the fuck they all came from. Honestly, I know I grew up in New Jersey but I still visit every summer, like now, and Christmas. This is just ridiculous!), and my friends Ray Toro, Bob Bryar, Brian Schecter, Pete Wentz and Patrick Van Stump? Because my little brother, Mikey Way was getting married to his long-time girlfriend Alicia and they had decided to come to Italy for the wedding. It was in four days, a day after Frankie and I’s four year anniversary. Why am I annoyed, you ask? Well, I am an artist and get my best ideas for drawings, paintings, sketches, etc. when I am awake at the ‘insane hours of night’ as Frankie called them, but lately I have been in a manic episode and have been on a block. For two weeks. It’s driving me INSANE! Evert time I get an idea of some sort and pick up a pencil, brush, marker, or any other drawing implement, my idea defenestrates itself and left me yanking my hair and desperately trying to think of something. I know I have been causing Frank to worry when I crash at random times during the day; not even my usual four cups of coffee can keep me up for longer than four hours. Speaking of which, why am I asleep? And narrating this inside my head? And who the fuck am I talking to?! God, I really some fucking sleep..._

++++++++

   “Gee? You alright?” Frank asked as he sat on the edge of the couch were Gerard was currently lying on his stomach, exhuasted from the rehearsal wedding for Mikey and Alicia. Lindsey was Alicia’s maid of honor, and Frank’s old friend and ex-girlfriend, Jamia, was one of her bridesmaids. Gerard mumbled something unintelligible and Frank rolled his eyes, but rubbed his boyfriend’s back gently in small circles and played with the ends of his hair. He and Gerard were still in their fancy outfits; black dress shoes, black dress pants, white pressed buttons up shirts with collars, and black blazers. Patrick had loaned Frank a fedora, while Gerard stuck with his jet black hair, and they, Ray, Bob, Brian and Mikey all wore crimson ties. It was funny as how he was the only male who knew how to tie them correctly and efficiently. The twenty-eight year old smiled at these thoughts, but was quickly drawn out of them when Gerard stirred and blinked owlishly up at him, starting and jumping away from him a bit.

   “Frank!” his voice pitched slightly higher, then he coughed and yawned, trying to cover that, whatever the fuck it was, by acting nonchalant. Frank frowned at this and sat back on his heels, staring at Gerard with slightly hardened brown eyes.

  “What’s up?” Gerard asked, trying to cover his startled wake-up and stealthily checked the bulge in his pocket. Undisturbed. Good.

   “Just making sure your okay. Come on, you need to get some sleep; Helena has been scolding me about your sleep patterns, even though I swear that I’m not to blame for such things.” Frank said as he stood and helped Gee stand as well.

   “I’m fine. Crazy ass dream though.”  
At this, Frank turned sharply to look at Gerard, invading his personal space as he looked for signs of a nightmare or some kind distress.  
  

   “I’m okay, I promise.” Gerard stated earnestly and wound his fingers through the back of Frank’s hair and kissed him, letting his lips show his boyfriend that he was fine, that he loved Frank and how much he really fucking loved him.  
Frank pulled back after a bit and rested his head on Gerard’s shoulder, nestling his head into his neck and just breathing the natural smell of his skin, smiling.

   “Come on. You need sleep, Gee. As much as I love you, I don’t think your mom or grandmother would love me if you fell asleep during dinner.” That sly, ‘you-can’t-resist-this-smile’ look came back to his face and Gerard nodded, yawning hugely.

  ‘ _Damn it! Stop yawning!_ ’ Gerard mentally snapped at his body. Frank only shook his head and took Gerard’s hand in his own, and then led him to their room. It was a nice room; a king-sized bed, soft covers and a green duvet, two bed side tables, one of either side of the bed, a desk that had already been proclaimed by Gerard’s explosion of drawing implements, a small bathroom with a shower off on the far side of the room; which was twenty feet by thirty feet. A dresser with all their clothes stood on the far side of the wall, above was a mirror, and beside it a bookshelf and Frank’s acoustic guitar, Mary, leaning comfortably beside it. Frank lead Gee over to the bed and began to untie his shoes and placed them beside the small table then pulled off his socks. Gerard snapped awake at that moment and quickly stood, causing Frank to over balance and fall back on his ass and hands, and glare up at Gerard who had subtly moved his hand to his pocket and looked sheepishly down at frank.

   “What the fuck, asshole?!” He exclaimed as Gerard pulled him up and hugged him close.

   “I’m sorry Frankie... I just... Am really out of it.” Gerard mumbled and Frank felt a flash of fear go through him. Was Gee cutting again? Frank thought back to when he first found out. _He had come over to see if Gerard was awake enough to talk and rant about classes but when he came in the dorm room, he found his friend pulling on jeans and moving like he had just woken up. Gerard at the time was senior, Frank a sophomore but that didn’t mean he was blind. He noticed little scars, too straight to be accidental, lining Gee’s ribs and hips. In a flash, he was at Gerard’s side and forcing his arms above his head, checking for more._ Gerard had been on medication ever since, and waned off of it, the second year they had been together, but that didn’t mean he could have slipped or been recently slipping... Was that why he had been avoiding him?

    “Gee... Are you cutting again?” Frank asked softly and Gerard looked at him, startled, then he shook his head and smiled at his boyfriend’s worry.

    “No, Frankie. I haven’t. You would have seen anyways!” His voice went up an octave as Frank began to take off Gerard’s shirt and coat, throwing them hapharzdly to the floor and running his calloused, ice cold fingers over Gerard ribs, back, shoulders, neck, arms and hips before he nodded in satisfaction.

   “Okay... I was just worried.” Frank pressed a kiss to Gerard’s heart and Gerard smiled, hugging Frank close as he could. The pair stayed like that, happy and completely ignoring everything else around them; that is, until Gerard’s yawn interrupted it.

   “Okay, bed you.” Frank pushed Gerard to the bed and turned to the dresser to get him pants, as he was often the reason he had NO pants... He chuckled at that thought but jumped when he heard Gerard’s ringtone go off. Gerard scrambled out of his pants and sprinted to the other side of the room to the desk in his boxers to the desk where his phone was lying innocently on top of the sketchbook and playing Bon Jovi’s ‘Memory’.

   “Ciao? Oh, grazie a dio! Sì, sì, è fantastico... Si potrebbe fare? Oh, sì, vorrei che! Grazie, grazie! Quanto tempo? Davvero? Sì, sono convinto di poter ... Va bene, sì... Che funziona... Grazie di nuovo. Arrivederci.”

Frank, having learned Italian long ago from Gerard, knew EXACTLY what he was saying, or could at least loosely translate it.

  ‘ _Hello? Oh, thank God! Yes, yes, it's fantastic ... You could do? Oh, yes, I would like that! Thank you, thank you! How much time? Really? Yes, I am convinced of being able to ... Ok, that ... That works ... Thanks again. Goodbye._ ’ This, above all, raised Frank’s suspicions and he raised an eyebrow and threw Gerard his pants.

   “So, who was that?” Gerard froze and turned, the sweatpants falling on his face and making him look nun-ish, if it weren’t for the facts that a) he was male, b) he was an atheist, and c) they had little skeletons all over them.  
Gerard quickly recovered though and pulled the pants on with one hand while the other placed something inside the desk and quickly locked it.

   ‘ _How the fuck did he do that?_ ’ Frank asked himself mentally before he realized Gerard was talking.

   “Just someone for the wedding. Grandma wanted to be sure everything was perfect and so had them call me instead because I knew what had to go on it.”

    “Go on what?”

   “The tables. Mikey wanted be sure that it was Alicia’s favourite flowers and since he was busy, they called me instead.”

   “Didn’t you just say they asked your grandmother first?” Frank raised an eyebrow and Gerard looked like a doe caught in headlights.

    “Uh...”

Frank cracked a smile and laughed.

    “I know you’re tired, Gee. I’m just messing with you.” Gerard breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, crossing back over to Frank and pulling him down to the bed. He yawned and looked up at Frank, who was still wearing his fancy clothes and yawned hugely.

    “Frankie, you should change soon... It’ll get really hot soon.” Frank nodded and ran his fingers through Gerard’s hair, nails applying just enough pressure to feel good but not cause pain. Gerard practically purred and pressed further into those magic hands and smiled sleepily. In a matter of minutes, he was asleep and Frank smiled down at his sleeping face, pressing a kiss to his hair and carefully extracted himself from his boyfriend’s grip. He cracked his back and fingers at the same time; lacing his fingers together above his head and then bending backwards and pushing up, causing a series of ‘pop’ to sound like a xylophone. He sighed happily and quickly folded Gerard’s discarded clothes, setting them neatly in the dresser, then shedding his own layers and replacing them with a comfortable pair of jeans and decided to go shirtless before grabbing his black moleskin journal and a pencil and sticking both in his deep set pocket. Gerard had been right; it was hot as shit outside already and it steadily getting warmer, though he knew it would be alright that night. Humming to himself, Frank grabbed Mary and quietly closed the door to the room, though he left the windows open as Gerard loved the wind when he was asleep. Maybe it would give him ideas on what to draw soon... He hadn’t gone twenty feet from the door when he heard,

    “Frankie!” and a sudden weight was added to his back and he stumbled, almost falling and dropping Mary, ALMOST. But he didn’t.

    “Wentz, the fuck?! Are you TRYING to kill me? Jesus H....” He glared at the man who had an arm slung around his shoulders, and a ridiculous grin on his face.

   “No! But, I did manage to save this from the kids before they killed it.” He handed Frank his other baby; an iPod nano that Gerard had bought him for their second anniversary. Frank snatched it and automatically checked it over for any marks or disturbances on the shiny red surface. Nodding in satisfaction when he saw none, he stuck that and his head set into his pocket. Patrick came out of nowhere, Ray, Bob and Brain just behind him.

    "Pete, come on. Mrs. Helena just asked us to go to the market with her for the wedding.”

   “Right... Hey, did Maria call Gerard yet?” Pete asked before his eyes went huge and he slapped a hand over his mouth. Patrick slapped the back of his head, Ray looked worriedly at Frank, Bob looked annoyed, and Brain sighed with annoyance and glared at Pete.

     “Whose-“

     “Nobody! Just someone for the wedding. Come on Pete, let’s go. See you later Frankie!” Ray called as he and Patrick dragged Pete away. Bob and Brain were left to deal with a very annoyed, very confused, and very hurt Frank, who raised an eyebrow and tapped his foot.

    “Well?”

   “ _’Maria’s Flowers for all Occasions’_ is the shop name. We’re getting dragged into helping Helena carry the flowers and stuff for dinner back up the house.” Brain explained.

   “We’ll see you later, Frank.” Bob nodded and patted Frank’s head, making him raise his other eyebrow and snap,

    “I’m not a damn dog!” But he still felt the turning wheels of suspicion go through his mind. Gee was NEVER this secretive...  
As he passed the kitchen, he caught snippets of conversation from Stella and Marie, who were gossiping as they prepared for dinner.

   “Is he going to tell him soon? I hope he does, Frankie has been so kind to him and very good for Gerard.”

   “Maria has been calling him again.”

   "Oh! Then that means what I think, yes?”

     “Exactly!” Frank ran past, no longer able to hear the rest of the conversation. He felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Was Gerard going to leave him? Was he not good enough anymore? He quickly shook _that_ cliche thought away but the others swirled in his mind.

    ‘ _Was that why he’s been acting so weird? He was late yesterday and today to the rehearsal for the wedding... But he couldn’t have gotten lost... He went with Pete, Patrick and Chris... So then, they must also know what Gerard is planning! What the fuck is going!?!_ ’ Frank mentally screamed and ran past everyone else outside, ignoring the calls of "wait up!", "What’s wrong?", and "where are you going?" Finally, he came to a secluded spot at a bit away from the house but still within view of the family home. It was shady and secluded and Frank sat, pressing his back against the old, gnarled olive tree and let tears fall down his face. ‘ _What the fuck was going on around me?! My boyfriend’s family and our friends were acting weird, Gerard even stranger... Were what Stella and Marie talking about true?_ ’ Frank buried his face in his knees, but after a few minutes, wiped away his tears, put his headset into his ears and pushed ‘play’ and started strumming along with the songs as they came on.

   ' _I need to create the best fucking anniversary gift that Gee has EVER gotten... I got him the newest and best art supplies for our first anniversary... Tattooed a his sketch of the twin swallows on my hips for the second and a year’s worth of unlimited coffee, for free, at ‘Rift in the Lute’ for our third..._ ’ Just then, a song came on. The male lead was singing about how much he loved this woman, Unrequited Lovers it was called. He sat up and smiled, turning off his iPod and started scribbling in his journal. He carried it around in his pocket; it was a bit smaller then his deep set pockets, along with a pencil. He knew it was weird but Gerard loved it and it was convenient as hell. Frank spent the rest of the day writing, scratching out words, and wearing his pencil eraser down to the nub. Finally, after two hours of editing, erasing scratching and changing, Frank had a rough draft of the song he wanted to sing. He wasn’t Ray Toro, Patrick Van Stump, or Pete Wentz but he thought it was pretty damn good... He would play it for them tomorrow to ask for their opinions. He yawned and placed the journal back inside his pocket, replaced the headphones in his ears, and leaned back against the tree, happy with his work.

+++++++++

   Gerard had woken up about ten minutes ago but he was too comfortable to do anything active. That is, until he rolled over and noticed the cold spot where Frank had been not moments before but as he rose from his position on the bed, stretched, and went over to his phone. Its clock blared up at him 16:38. Gerard mentally cursed and looked around for Frank but then saw how Mary wasn’t were she had been residing for the past month beside the bookshelf and automatically made the correct assumption that Frank was by his tree and probably playing her to a song as he listened to his music. With a smile, Gerard took off his sweats and replaced them with jeans, then a loose shirt and went outside to hunt down Frank.

    “Ehi, Antonio! Avete visto Frankie ovunque?” he asked his twenty-six year old cousin, who nodded.

     “Sì, egli è sotto il vecchio ulivo nel cortile. Credo che egli stia dormendo. Oh, e la cena in trenta minuti.”

    “Gratsi.”

    "Prego.”

     Gerard nodded to his cousin and dashed outside into the backyard and smiled, breathing in the fresh ocean smell as the wind blew it up the beach and over the hill to the little house and the land above it.  
He spotted the gnarled olive tree and the lump that was Frank Iero underneath it, guitar in his lap. Gerard walked over, bare feet not making a sound on the grass as he slinked over, fully intending to surprise Frank but soon as he got there, his mind froze and a smile came to his face.

    Frank was lying with his back and shoulders pressed against the tree, ear buds in, and his jeans rolled up to his knees. His hands were set loosely where they usually would go if he were awake and the sun set cast his pale-tanning skin in a soft golden light. In seconds, the artist in his mind started to wake up and the cogs shook off their cobwebs, turning faster and faster. In under a minute, Gerard had his idea for Frank’s anniversary gift and raced back inside, dodged around his family members and ignored their shouts, and slammed the door to his room. In a flash, he was across the room and had his sketch book his hand, charcoal in the other and started to sketch the scene his mind had started to paint. He grinned and leaned over the desk as he drew, erased, sketched, rubbed, and wiped his face and fingers with charcoal. This lasted all through dinner, though he was no longer hungry and ignored Frank and Ray’s calls of "come and eat, you stubborn idiot!"

He could eat later.

+++++++++++++

    Frank stood from the table and grabbed Gerard’s plate of pasta, Parmesan, basil, sausage and chicken in Alfredo sauce and carried it back to their room with a fork, knife and napkin, promising to bring it back with him. Mary was currently residing beside their door as Gerard had locked the door and they couldn’t find the key. He knocked on the door but got no answer and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. With a sigh, he reached up to the top of the door frame (with some help from a chair, because those door frames where fucking tall, god damn it!) Frank walked into the room and saw Gerard was hunched over the desk, dead asleep. He smiled and put the plate on the bed side table for later and gently shook Gerard’s shoulder to wake him up.

   “Hey, Gee. I brought you some food.”

    “Frankie? Whazz up?” he yawned hugely. Frank took one look at his boyfriend’s face and started giggling, almost bent over double from his laughter. This made Gerard close his mouth with an audible ‘snap’ and he glared at his boyfriend.

    “What’s so funny, pray tell?” Frank giggled some more and wet his thumb, wiping Gerard’s cheek.

     “You have charcoal all over your face, Gerard! You look like you lost a fight with pencil!” Gerard smiled and laughed, then looked down at his fingers and noticed the pile of left over charcoal dust and suddenly got an ‘evil’ idea. Quickly, he grabbed Frank’s wrist and began to draw a heart, atomically correct, on Frank’s chest. Frank stopped laughing and giggling, in fact practically stopped breathing, as Gerard began his meticulous process of drawing the atomically correct heart on his shirtless (and hairless) chest.

Finally, after a half hour of drawing every vein, artery and ventricle, Gerard finally released Frank and smiled up at his boyfriend. Frank chuckled and went to bathroom, wetting a washcloth and squeezing out all the water, then coming back to the room and seeing Gerard sitting on the bed, munching on his now cold dinner.

     “Fucking delicious.” He mumbled around a bite, swallowing. Frank nodded and sat on Gerard’s legs, quickly washing his face free of charcoal. Gerard made a face, crinkling his nose and forehead but Frank smoothed them out and placed his finished plate beside the bed on the table. Gerard pulled Frank down onto the bed, laying so they were both on their sides. They had no words to describe what they were feeling, but they knew anyways, and so they fell asleep to the steady breathing of the other.

++++++++++++

     For the next two days, Gerard started avoiding Frank. He even showed up to the wedding rehearsal slightly dishelved, though much earlier then he normally would have, and he left the latest, claiming he had to help Mikey and Alicia with something. Literally, that was what he said yesterday. He hadn’t come home until later, after even Mikey and Alicia, and had retreated immediately to his old room, not his and Frank’s room, but to the room he had when he used to stay in when he stayed here during the summer and Christmas break. Frank couldn’t talk though; he had been avoiding everyone as well in order to memorize the song. Hell, he had even recorded it on his iPod and listened to the lyrics playing over and over until he started humming it under his breath, only to catch himself when he was around Gerard. Though today he had asked Gee if he wanted to spend it together, he had made an announcement at breakfast that he was ‘going to town with Mikey, Alicia, Papa, Grandma Helena, Chris and his mom to look for the final pieces of the wedding and make sure the food, cake, dress for Alicia, Mikey’s tux, music, and everything else was finalized, ready and prepared for the big day.’  
Frank huffed and sat down on the ground, though he was being a bit hypocritical when he blamed Gerard for avoiding him. He had also been avoiding everyone, though he had finally been cornered by Ray, who demanded to know what the fuck was going on. That lead him up to now, where Ray, Pete and Patrick were all waiting for him to start playing.

   “It’s not that good... And I only just memorized it, so sorry if it sucks, but this is what I’m planning to sing to Gee for our anniversary the day after tomorrow.” He strummed basic cords, then set up a slow beat, tapping his fingers on the side of his guitar. The melody was somber but also strangely soothing and he started to sing.

“Chances are when said and done  
Who'll be the lucky ones who make it all the way?  
Though you say I could be your answer  
Nothing lasts forever no matter how it feels today.

Chances are we'll find a new equation.  
Chances roll away from me.  
Chances are all they hope to be.

Don't get me wrong I'd never say never  
'Cause though love can change the weather  
No act of God can pull me away from you.  
I'm just a realistic man, a bottle filled with shells and sand.  
Afraid to love beyond what I can lose when it comes to you  
And though I see us through, yeah.”

Frank had closed his eyes and Ray, Patrick and Pete could swear they saw tears at the edges of his eyes, is voice so full of emotion it almost hurt to listen to the amount of heartbreak and hope as he fingers moved up and down the neck of the guitar, the notes lingering in air.

“Chances, chances  
Chances lost are hope's torn up pages  
Maybe this time...  
Chances are we'll be the combination.  
Chances come and carry me.  
Chances are waiting to be taken, and I can see.  
Chances are the fascinations...  
Chances won't escape from me.  
Chances are only what we make them and all I need.”

   Frank plucked the last few cords and let the notes hang, heavy in the air that they were almost tangible, so full of despair but so full of hope that the others felt tear’s at the edges of their own eyes.

    “Is it any good? I know the lyrics are kind of bad and sort of cliché, but-“ he set Mary aside and turned back to the others but before he could finish his sentence, he was tackled to the ground by Pete who was crushing him in a hug and making it nearly impossible to breathe.

     “Francis Anthony Iero Junior, that was beautiful! And normally I only say that when Trick sings to me, or actually CALL him beautiful but that’s something completely different. But seriously, I’m sure Gee is going to LOVE that song.” He crushed the short man closer and then suddenly giggled manically and released Frank as he started laughing hysterically.

    “Okay, either he’s high or he had a shit ton of sugar today...” Frank muttered, missing the looks Patrick and Ray traded

    “Pete... How much sugar did you eat today?” Patrick asked warily, edging towards his friend.

    “So much caffeine in that coffee!!” He laughed hysterically and didn’t stop even when Patrick picked him up and carried him away. When they were far enough away, Pete stopped laughing and settled down, Patrick setting him on the ground and rolling his shoulder. He may have lost a lot of weight but that didn’t mean he wanted to carry Pete every time he almost let the secret slip.

    "Dude, you have GOT to get better at that.”

     “Sorry. But I DID have a grande espresso today... I’m kind of surprised I’m not dead yet. Hey, Gee!” He suddenly called as Gerard was trying to ninja his way around outside, a sketchbook in his hand and a box in the other. He froze and turned suddenly when he heard his name but relaxed when he saw it was only Pete and Patrick. He waved and slipped inside.

     “Wow, he is REALLY making this anniversary the ‘best thing ever’ huh?” Pete asked before he tugged Patrick down to the ground and folded his arms behind his head.

     “We haven’t watched the clouds together in forever ‘Trick.” Was all he offered as a reason when Patrick raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to ask. Patrick felt all the stress from earlier and the previous month melt away as he watched Pete point animatedly to the clouds, saying something softly so only Patrick could hear, as if he spoke any louder, the grass would overhear and tell the gossiping wind who would ruin the special moment they had. Patrick smiled and nodded, taking Pete’s outstretched hand and winding his fingers together as Pete pointed out a heart shaped cloud, their intertwined hands in the center.

    “Yeah, we really haven’t had any time together.” Patrick murmured before bringing Pete’s hand to his face and kissing the back of it. He felt something warm move onto his chest and raised his head a bit, only to see Pete laying his head on his chest and moving their interwoven hands so their arms bent at the elbow comfortably and lay beside them. Pete laughed quietly to himself and with his free hand started to point to the hidden shapes again. Patrick smiled and sighed.

This was a good day.

++++++++

    Gerard smiled as he set the box in his pocket and put the finishing touches on the drawing. It wasn’t that bad if he said so himself. It was of Frank from two days ago when he was asleep underneath the old olive tree, but there had been a few... alterations, he would call them. With a smile, he set the box in his loosest jacket pocket and wiped the coloured charcoal off on a rag, smiling and nodding in satisfaction at the work, about to apply the adhesive spray that kept the charcoal from rubbing off.  He covered his mouth with a surgical mask, and keeping the thoughts of needles as far as he could in the back of his mind, began to spray the clear gloss on the paper and its drawing from about an inch and a half away. It smelled disgusting but it worked and so long he kept the door closed, no one would be able to tell he had been working on Frank’s anniversary project. He grinned evilly from behind the blue mask and did a second coat quickly on top of the first and left it to dry.

   Quickly, because he had missed dinner yesterday and Helena, Papa and everyone else had not been very happy with him, he went back to his and Frank’s room, hopped in the shower and washed his body free of the noxious fumes and any other grime or grease. His hair was washed free of grease and sweat, then the water shut off and he dried himself quickly as possible. Throwing on a new set of clothes, Gerard set the jacket with the box carefully on the desk, which Frank knew NEVER to touch as Gerard had everything set exactly where he wanted it to be and where he could see it exactly.

   “Gee! Come ON! Dinner’s almost ready!” Frank called as he walked into the room. Gerard smiled and nodded, kissing Frank quickly on the lips and practically _sprinting_ out of the room. Frank stood there for a moment, suddenly feeling his stomach plummet to the ground.

    “Gerard...” Suddenly a stray paper caught his eye on Gerard’s art desk. He looked over his shoulder for a second before going over and picking it up.

It was in Gerard’s neat little cursive like hand writing was,  
‘ _I’m sorry I couldn’t say this sooner... It was just so hard to believe about what’s going on... And now it’s actually happening to my family and myself.... And now this is how it all disappears..._ '

   Frank couldn’t read the rest of it and the little dots were where he was going to add in another thought, he knew. It looked like a rough draft of a letter... ‘ _Oh shit. Gerard can’t leave... He just can’t!!_ ’ Was his only thought and he carefully put it back where it belonged and he raced out to the outside dining room, where the canvas awning and brick patio warm to the touch of bare feet. Frank frantically searched for Gerard and found him sitting next to Ray, Bob, Brain, Pete, Patrick and Mikey.

   “Frankie!” Brain called, waving a hand and gesturing to the seat next to Gerard and Bob. Frank moved faster then he thought he could through the people and chairs and was at Gerard’s side in a second, clasping his hand tightly as he could and making sure that Gerard was still there.

    “Hey, Frank, where the hell have you been the past two days? I’ve seen you at meals but every other hour of the day, you’re off doing something.” Bob asked as he passed Frank the salad. He looked up and took the bowl, silently praising whoever made it and mumbled something around a mouthful of leaves, cucumbers, tomatoes, dressing, carrots, peppers, apples, and pears. Bob raised a blonde eyebrow and Frank swallowed, chasing it down with fresh bread with butter and then some water before he answered,

    “Just been walking around the town. I thought I’d find something since for my mom other then pictures from the wedding and you know how busy she is around the work place and all... She said she’d loved to come but she was too busy to come. And she hates flying.”

    “Linda!” Donna exclaimed happily and she jumped from her seat to go and greet Mrs. Iero. Frank gulped and shovelled more food into his mouth.

    “Uh-huh... And how do you explain your mom being here?” Gerard asked on the other side of him. Frank coughed and almost choked as his mom waved, waving back. Mentally, he was scrambling to find some kind of excuse to cover that failed one but thankfully he was choking on salad and Bob was pounding his back so he could breathe again and he couldn’t speak for several minutes. Gerard helped him drink some water and rubbing soothing circles on his back, murmuring sweet nothing into his ear to calm him down.

    “Toro and I went to the town’s free wifi cafe and booked her a ticket soon as she called me saying that she wanted to surprise Frank and everyone else because she had been taken off the hospital shift as her new boss noticed she had been over worked lately and decided to give her a paid break for two weeks.” Brain explained and stepped on Ray’s foot, making him nod, a mouthful of bread and soup preventing him from speaking.

    “Exactly!” Ray nodded and smiled at Mrs. Iero, and a new place was set for her and then conversation picked back up again. For the rest of the night, Frank kept close to Gerard as possible, holding his hand and even at one point checking to be sure the heart Gerard had drawn on his was still there. He smiled when he saw it was and quickly returned to Gerard’s side. That night, after the cousins had gone to bed and the loud voices dropped to murmurs over wine glasses filled with red wine that Gerard asked Frank what was wrong. Brian, Bob, Ray, Pete, Patrick, Mikey and Alicia sat with them outside on the grass with a bottle of red wine between them all and each person with a glass, aside from Gerard. Pete was asleep on Patrick’s knees, Ray was lying on his back, and Alicia had her head on Mikey’s shoulder as they quietly sipped from their wine. Gerard sat with his legs flat on the ground, Frank lying draped across him like a living blanket, Bob and Brian sat side by side, Brian pointing out constellations to the others. Gerard ran his fingers through Frank’s hair, who had closed his eyes as those fingers moved gently over his scalp.

    “Frank, why were you staying so close to me tonight?” Frank opened his eyes and stared up at him, looking Gerard straight in the eyes as he squeezed his hand,

    “Just wanted to be sure you weren’t about to disappear on me.” Gerard smiled and leaned down to whisper in his ear,

   “I’m never going disappear on you, Frank Iero. You’re my Frankie.” Frank smiled at this and closed his eyes. Later, Gerard carried him bridal style to their room and quietly changed him into his pajama pants and then change into his own skeleton pajamas.  
He pulled the covers over top of them and smiled down at his boyfriend’s sleeping face and kissed his forehead, pulling him tightly to his body.

   “Good-night, Frankie. I love you so much.” And with this, turned off the light and fell asleep, for once before ‘the insane hours of the morning.’

++++++++++

   Today was their anniversary. The big day. Frank woke up before Gerard, for once, and smiled as he saw Gee was still there. His fears had been hollow as the words of a politician.

   “Hey, Gee... Get up.” He yawned. The man stirred and tightened his hold on the shorter male who laughed at his antics and rolled his eyes before shaking him awake.

   “Gerard, I just got back from the kitchen. Brian has the last cup of coffee until later today when Helena can go to the market with Ray, Chris, Stella, and Francis to get more.” He muttered into the sleeping owner’s ear. Gerard was awake in an instant with fire in his eyes as he leaped from the bed, only to fail epically and fall back onto the bed with a loud,

   “Oof! Shit, that hurt!” He yelled when he fell back on the bed awkwardly and Frank burst out laughing.

    “You’re not a superhero.”

    "Yet. I’m no superhero YET, Frankie.” He grinned hugely and properly got out of bed.

     “Yeah, yeah... Hey, wanna come out and relax by the olive tree after lunch today? You know, so we can have some time to ourselves before we get roped into watching the brats or something later?”

      Gerard laughed and nodded. He knew his cousins could be brats but they sure as hell were fun to be around. He remembered when he, Mikey, Chris, Anthony, Maria, Franny, and Luke were younger they were watched by Greg, their American cousin, during the winter break because Papa was too busy setting up everything else but Gerard had tripped up Greg the Peg-head, as they called him because he was just _so stupid_ and as he was carried away to his room, shouted out,

    _“Three cheers for tyranny!” Chris, Mikey, Anthony, Franny, Maria, and Luke cheered in succession as Gerard started it. The adults were laughing hysterically as Greg failed to corral them but whenever someone else watched the group, they were almost perfect. They still wrecked havoc, yes, but not in a way that would cause any LINGERING damage._

    “Sure, that’d be great.” He pressed a kiss to Frank’s lips, one that seemed to say ‘good-bye’ or ‘I love you.’ Frank couldn’t tell but he took it as he could. If Gerard was going to leave him, he would play the song before he could say anything. Frank knew he couldn’t make Gerard stay, but his heart would remain was on his chest. With this in mind, he got up, dressed and followed him out of their room, down the hall and into the kitchen where breakfast was waiting. Shortly after, he disappeared and left Frank with Ray, Pete, Patrick, Bob, Brian and his mom as Mikey and Alicia had gone off to spend some alone time together before the wedding and everyone was making them feel claustrophobic.

    “Frank, where’s Gerard? Isn’t today your four year anniversary?” Linda asked as he took Mary out the olive tree, Pete, Patrick, Ray, Bob and Brian already lounging there in the shade.

   "Hey Mom, when it comes to love, and you really love someone but you’re not sure if their still there for you, what can you do?” He asked, stopping suddenly. Linda stopped as well and looked at her son, nodding to herself.

    "Well, I would show them how much they meant to me. If Gerard is feeling this way about you, show him how much he means to you. You love him, don’t you?”

   “Well, duh.” A sharp look made him lower his head and nod, amending his statement to,

     “Yes, I love him with everything I am.” Linda smiled and nodded now, approving of this statement and pulled her son into a tight embrace.

    “Then there you go. You’re going to be surprised at how people can act when they are madly in love with someone. He may feel as though he was smothering you lately after your last trip to the hospital and so decided to give you some breathing room.” Was her owl-wise response. Frank nodded and breathed deeply, allowing the memories of that last attack to filter through his mind.

    _He had been having trouble breathing one day at work and he suddenly collapsed into a coughing fit, actually blacking out. When he woke up again, he was in the hospital and he had been unconscious for two days straight, and Gerard hadn’t left his side in all that time, aside to go to the bathroom and that was as fast as he could go. The raw fear and sadness in his boyfriend’s eyes had made Frank’s chest hurt, though he wasn’t sure if that was because of the coughing fit, the pain of seeing Gerard look at him like that or both. Gerard enveloped him in a hug and kept telling Frank how afraid he had been that he wouldn’t wake up again and how afraid he had been of losing him. Frank smiled and hugged Gerard back, saying,  
_

_“I’m never going to disappear on you, Gerard Way.”_

   Frank breathed deeply and moved away from his mom’s hug slowly, as though the world would go back to spinning backwards, or at least that’s what had been happening to Frank all week. But no, the world was still spinning right and he still was in Gerard’s life. This was a good day. It was their four year anniversary and it was also a sad day. But he wouldn’t dwell on those thoughts.

    “Thanks Mom.” He smiled and she nodded.

    “Right, well it seems Gerard is coming over with a basket, so I will go round up those boys and leave you two with some privacy.” She winked and frank felt his face heat up till it was bright as Gerard’s crimson tie but he was too embarrassed to call after his mom to tell her they weren’t going to have sex in the view of everyone!

    “Boys, get your rears in gear! Lunch is being prepared and you lot are going to help me and the others prepare for it. Move it!” Every last person jumped to his feet and raced to the house, not willing to risk the anger of the female, and catholic, version of Frank Iero. Frank smiled and was able to tame his face into a more normal shade of skin tone and brought Mary, his guitar, over to the tree and waited for Gerard to get there well. It actually didn’t take his that long; in five minutes, Gerard had made it to the spot where Frank was sitting happily (if a bit afraid), waiting for him to arrive.

    “Hey babe. I brought us a picnic lunch. Salad, soup, meat and veggie lasagne, and wine.” Gerard started unpacking everything, and he tucked something into his pocket and then placed a wrapped box at the base of the tree. Frank grabbed the light blue blanket and helped Gee spread it out, then grabbed the wine glasses from the basket and set Mary down against the tree and took the salad of apples, peppers, tomatoes, pears, radishes, dressing, and spinach and veggie lasagne, wine and fork Gerard gave him with a genuine smile and a quick peck to the cheek.

    “Oh my god.... Remind me to kiss whoever made this later...” Frank practically moaned as he bit into the still warm lasagne.

Gerard suddenly kissed him on the lips, tongue swiping out to catch the corner of Frank’s mouth where sauce was residing and smiled cheekily when Frank blinked at the sudden attack.

    “Happy Anniversary, Frankie.” Frank smiled hugely and lunch passed quickly with a lot of laughter and poking fun and stolen kisses. Gerard help Frank pack away the utensils when they finished and Frank sat so his legs went to the side and he was sitting on his thighs, then shifted so his was sitting cross-legged. But none of these positions where comfortable and so finally, he stood and grabbed Mary as Gerard stood as well and opened his mouth to say something.

   "Frank...”

   “Wait Gerard... Before you say anything, just please let me do this.” Gerard could hear Frank’s voice crack slightly and tears were at the edges of his eyes but Frank slung the shoulder strap over his right shoulder and plucked a few cords and started up that somber but strangely hopeful tune again before he began to sing.

“Chances are when said and done  
Who'll be the lucky ones who make it all the way?  
Though you say I could be your answer

Nothing lasts forever no matter how it feels today.  
Chances are we'll find a new equation.  
Chances roll away from me.  
Chances are all they hope to be.  
Don't get me wrong I'd never say never  
'Cause though love can change the weather

No act of God can pull me away from you.  
I'm just a realistic man, a bottle filled with shells and sand.  
Afraid to love beyond what I can lose when it comes to you  
And though I see us through, yeah.

Chances are we'll find two destinations  
Chances roll away from me  
Still chances are more than expectations  
The possibilities over me

It's a fight with two to one, lay your money on the sun  
Until you crash what have you done? Is there a better bet than love?  
What you are is what you breathe, you gotta cry before you sing.

Chances, chances  
Chances lost are hope's torn up pages  
Maybe this time….

Chances are we'll be the combination  
Chances come and carry me  
Chances are waiting to be taken, and I can see

Chances are the fascinations.  
Chances won't escape from me.  
Chances are only what we make them and all I need.”

   Gerard could see tears at the corners of Frank’s eyes as he sang this song and he himself felt like crying. The last few notes were hanging in the air, heavy with despair but lightened by hope and soon as Frank put Mary down on the ground, he pulled him into a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of his head and murmuring sweet nothing into Frank’s ear. Frank was shaking with tears, silent and totally unexpected and it made Gerard want to kill someone if they hurt his Frank. NO ONE EVER fucking messed with his boyfriend, let alone his friends. And if they did, oh they had better be ready to deal the consequences. But he suddenly realized, it was _him_ that was causing his Frankie, the love of his god damn, pathetic life, who without, he would be in some place that no man should ever be…

   “Frankie… Frank… Its okay, I promise. Shh… I’m not going anywhere…” he murmured into his ear and pressed a kiss to his scorpion tattoo.

   "But… But…The note… Stella and Marie… Maria calling you… I thought you were going to leave me.” Frank gasped, as his tears slowed and he wiped his face clear of them, ashamed. Gerard’s eyes widened and he shook his head as fast he could.

    "I’m never going to leave you, Frank Iero. Here, open your gift.” He grabbed the box and handed it to Frank, a sly smile on his face as Frank slowly opened the wrapping paper and pulled out a framed picture. It was of him, two days ago, under this very same tree, asleep with a smile on his face. The setting sun cast his shadow but instead of it being normal, it spelled out ‘ _Will you marry me?_ ’ and on the picture Frank’s ring finger was a silver, blue, black and red ring as it rested on the body of Mary, just off the strings and his headphones in his ears. Frank stared dumbfounded at the beautiful charcoal color picture and looked up when he saw Gerard go down on one knee and smile up at him, black velvet box in hand.

   “Frank Anthony Iero Junior, would you do me the honor of marrying me?” He opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring of a silver band with blue, black and red designs on it. Inside, he could just see engraved, was ‘ _To the only person who will ever have my heart. -G.W._ ’ Frank nodded, stock still as Gerard slid the ring onto his ring finger. Gerard stood, his smile rapidly disappearing as Frank slowly put down the picture Gerard had drawn for him and he wordily stepped back in frank’s personal space.

   “Frankie? Are you alright?” Frank’s face suddenly erupted in a huge, genuine smile and tackled Gerard to the ground and the pair rolled within ten feet of the patio. Gerard gave a shout of surprise and then erupted into loud and infectious laughter as they rolled. He pinned Gee there, sitting on his stomach and arms above his head and kissed him as hard as he could, then he too began to laugh. The rest of the family, Linda Iero, Bob, Brian, Pete, Mikey, Alicia, Patrick and Ray ran outside to see what the commotion was and everyone shouted with mixed exclamations of "Congratulations!", "Took them long enough!", "This calls for celebration!",  
and "Haha! Pay up, suckers!". The last one Frank and Gerard were sure was Pete but when they looked up, saw instead Brian collecting money from everyone with a shit-eating grin on his face.

    “What the-“ Frank began as he let Gerard sit up on his hands.

     “I bet that Gerard would propose to Frank on their anniversary, Toro, Bob and Pete all bet he would till after the wedding, Patrick bet on Frank’s birthday, Mrs. Iero and Donna bet on the day BEFORE the wedding, along with Mr. Way, Mrs. Helena, Chris, Mikey and Alicia.”

    “How many people were in this betting pool?” Frank asked, raising an eyebrow.

     “Oh, a few. Everyone I just mentioned, and Lindsey, Jamia, Anthony, Maria, Marie, Stephanie, Greg, Luke, Francis, the rest of your family, half the town, including the band who are playing at the wedding, the photographer Tara, the flouriest, the jeweler, the cake maker, the caterers. Most of our other friends including Brendon, Spencer, Ryan, Cortez, Greta, Dewees, Jon, Gabe, William Becket, Jimmy, Ryland, Nate, Vicky-T. Bebe, ”

    "Okay, we get it!” the pair said in unison. Everyone laughed and then there was a loud exclamation for a celebratory feast and more wine. Frank groaned and set himself in for his doom of dying by over eating. Half the people here thought he was anorexic, the others just thought he was on some weird diet and didn’t believe him when he said he was really just a vegetarian. Gerard and Frank slipped away from the family before they could conglomerate around them too much and retreated to the spot underneath the gnarled olive tree and just lay there, not having to talk. They already knew what was going on in the others head. All too soon, however, they were attacked by a bundle of sugar that was Pete Wentz.

     “Come on, it’s dinner! Helena sent me out here to get your lazy asses inside for food! Move it!” he said, grabbing their basket and racing away to the house. Frank grabbed his picture and Gerard grabbed Mary, then with interlinked hands, walked at a slower pace to the house where inviting smells of home and food where wafting through an open window. Laughter, mingling of Italian and English, the smell of fresh food as it cooked, and wine filled the night air and mixed pleasantly with the buds of summer and the salty smell of the ocean as the wind carried it up the hill to the house. Gerard and Frank savored the seconds as they passed by but they both knew something better was about to start.

    The night passed in a whirlwind of laughing, speeches, way too much alcohol, enough food passed to each person to feed at least six people. But all the while, Frank and Gerard kept their hands interlocked under the table and Mikey looked oh-so-very smug but also happy.

    “It’s about time you two got together.” He winked and Frank rolled his eyes.

    “Please. I practically had to shove you in a closet with Alicia to get you to ask her out. The one girl you were never suave with.” Frank teased.

   “You actually DID shove us into a closet. For two hours, if I remember correctly…” Alicia mock glared at him, for all of about thirty seconds before dissolving into laughter, and he knew she really was joking. Or at least about being angry at him.

    Finally, people began to trickle out and clear plates then retire to bed. Gerard and Frank stayed behind to help clean the dishes for Helena and some of the other girls, Stella, Marie, Stephanie, and Francis, and washed each plate for them. By the end of the entire meal though, there was very little left to clear and so they mainly spent their time washing and drying the plates and talking in hushed tones. After almost an hour, they were finished and they attempted to ninja their way back to their room but only succeeded in tip-toeing there instead as Frank kept stealing a kiss then racing away and leaving Gerard to catch up to him.

   By the time Gerard caught up to Frank, he was already dressed and ready for bed and staring at his ring. Gerard quietly shut the door behind him and changed for bed, then brushed his teeth and hair and flopped onto the bed. Frank automatically curled up to him and Gerard pulled the ring off his finger and put it next to the picture he drew, propping it up on its side so it was right underneath the ‘ _Will you marry me?_ ’ shadow of Frank.

    Frank looked down at his chest and ran a thumb over the left ventricle of the charcoal heart and swiped it across his cheek and reached up to kiss it away. When the mark disappeared, he kissed Gerard chastely on his lips and murmured as if the walls had ears.

    “I love you, Gerard Way.” Gerard smiled and kissed him back before kissing his ‘heart’ and looking Frank in the eyes and conveying every ounce of love he felt for the man said simply,

    “And I love you, Frank Iero.”


End file.
